Two volunteers from the Maine Red Cross are getting ready to go to Colorado to help the flood-ravaged area rebuilding roads and helping homeowners try to get back to normal.Nearly 1,800 homes were destroyed or damaged and hundreds of miles of roads washed away.WMTW News 8's Katie Thompson spoke with one of those volunteers Thursday.This will be Randi Sheehan's first deployment as a Red Cross volunteer."I'll be landing in Denver, Colo. but once I get to Denver I'm not sure where in Colorado I'll be responding to after that," Sheehan said.More than 860 Red Cross volunteers have deployed to the region, powering a response that includes food, shelter and supplies.It also means providing critical mental health services to people who have lost everything and those who are there to help."Sometimes it's just about being there in the moment. To support them and to just be with them in their time when they are having the biggest struggle," Sheehan said.Ellin Ruffner is a disaster mental health manager for the Red Cross. She said a volunteer's first deployment can be overwhelming."You have absolutely no idea what to expect. All you know is that you are going because you want to help the people that have been so badly affected by something out of their control," Ruffner said.Ruffner said volunteers already in the area said it's been a difficult task. They said some areas have been hit so hard that they're now difficult to get to."So, it's very hard to get an accurate count on the number of homes that are damaged, the number of people that are affected, harder than usual, I think," Ruffner said.Sheehan will spend at least two weeks in Colorado. She is anxious and excited to help."Just being able to settle into it and be able to breathe and offer what I can (makes me happy)," she said.The Red Cross estimates that initial emergency response efforts in Colorado alone will cost as much as $6.2 million.

PORTLAND, Maine —

Two volunteers from the Maine Red Cross are getting ready to go to Colorado to help the flood-ravaged area rebuilding roads and helping homeowners try to get back to normal.

Nearly 1,800 homes were destroyed or damaged and hundreds of miles of roads washed away.

WMTW News 8's Katie Thompson spoke with one of those volunteers Thursday.

This will be Randi Sheehan's first deployment as a Red Cross volunteer.

"I'll be landing in Denver, Colo. but once I get to Denver I'm not sure where in Colorado I'll be responding to after that," Sheehan said.

More than 860 Red Cross volunteers have deployed to the region, powering a response that includes food, shelter and supplies.

It also means providing critical mental health services to people who have lost everything and those who are there to help.

"Sometimes it's just about being there in the moment. To support them and to just be with them in their time when they are having the biggest struggle," Sheehan said.

Ellin Ruffner is a disaster mental health manager for the Red Cross. She said a volunteer's first deployment can be overwhelming.

"You have absolutely no idea what to expect. All you know is that you are going because you want to help the people that have been so badly affected by something out of their control," Ruffner said.

Ruffner said volunteers already in the area said it's been a difficult task. They said some areas have been hit so hard that they're now difficult to get to.

"So, it's very hard to get an accurate count on the number of homes that are damaged, the number of people that are affected, harder than usual, I think," Ruffner said.

Sheehan will spend at least two weeks in Colorado. She is anxious and excited to help.

"Just being able to settle into it and be able to breathe and offer what I can (makes me happy)," she said.

The Red Cross estimates that initial emergency response efforts in Colorado alone will cost as much as $6.2 million.